Donald Trump announced this Sunday a "ceasefire for energy" effective immediately between Russia and Ukraine, in which both parties would refrain from attacking each other's oil and electricity facilities; however, neither Moscow nor Kiev officially confirmed it.
"With immediate effect, there is a ceasefire regarding energy in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Don't break it!" Trump wrote on social media, without publishing any text of the agreement or specifying any verification mechanism.
The Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, acknowledged that the announcement took him by surprise, but he conditioned its fulfillment on reciprocal actions from Russia.
"The announcement of a ceasefire has been something new for me, but if the Russians agree to a ceasefire for energy, Ukraine does too," Zelenski said to journalist Barak Ravid from CNN and Axios.
In a video published on his channels, the Ukrainian president described the announcement as "good news for everyone," although he cautioned, "What matters is that it becomes a reality."
Zelensky also demanded specific details about what has been negotiated between Washington and the Kremlin: "If President Trump has negotiated this with Putin, please let us know when the ceasefire begins. We are ready and will accept it."
The credibility of the announcement was immediately called into question when Zelenski himself confirmed that, hours after Trump's post, Russia attacked the CHP-5 thermal power station in Kharkiv, a key facility for heating and electricity.
A Russian missile also struck a store on the outskirts of the city, resulting in three deaths and nine injuries, including two children.
Zelenski recalled that in the last week Russia had carried out more than 200 attacks against Ukrainian electricity generation and transportation facilities, and emphasized: "Ukraine has proposed many de-escalation measures. Putin has had only one response to all of them: 'no'."
There was no official confirmation from Moscow. The only statement came from Igor Ananskij, the vice president of the Energy Commission of the Duma, who claimed to be unaware of any agreement and suggested that Trump might be making a "verbal intervention" to lower oil prices: "We all know that Trump often says things to bring down oil prices. I don't know if it's true."
The announcement comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Kiev. On Saturday, Trump publicly requested that Ukraine have a "new president" capable of reaching an agreement with Russia, and U.S. officials reportedly warned Kiev that Washington could suspend intelligence sharing if Ukraine did not stop attacks on Russian refineries.
On Thursday, Trump and Putin formalized an agreement to suspend U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports, which Zelenski described as "unjust and dishonest" and condemned as a negotiation behind his back while his delegates were engaged in talks in Miami.
This is not the first time that Trump has announced an understanding of this kind without verifiable backing: in September, he had already proclaimed a similar agreement to protect energy infrastructure, which Zelensky denied had official confirmation, and Republican lawmakers rejected this week both the diesel pact and the proposal to replace the Ukrainian president.
"Ukraine wants peace. The question is whether Russia wants it," Zelensky concluded.
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